TheLFAhas launched its call for participants for the second annual LFA Symposium, organised in partnership with the Royal Academy of Arts. The LFA Symposium is a focal point of the LFA programme, and offers an outstanding platform for participants to share and develop their thinking while networking alongside prominent architects, academics and commentators.

The LFA invites both emerging and established architects, researchers and practitioners whose work explores the 2019 LFA theme of ‘boundaries’ to apply to take part in the Symposium, which will take place at the Royal Academy of Arts during the London Festival of Architecture in June 2019. When considering the role and application of boundaries in architecture, applicants are encouraged to consider both tangible and intangible boundaries. Examples include:

Tangible boundaries:

Physical boundaries such as borders, fences and walls and their impact on day-to-day physical experiences of the city

Critical assessments of the historic importance of physical boundaries

Architectural boundaries, privacy and the body

Intangible boundaries:

Unseen geographical boundaries such as postcodes or administrative borders

Bridging invisible lines of separation between different social groups

Assessments of the effect of land ownership and the perception of space

At this initial stage, potential participants are invited to submit an abstract of up to 300 words and a one-page CV by 3.00pm on Friday 25 January 2019.

The LFA Symposium was established in 2018 by the LFA in partnership with the Royal Academy of Arts, as a focal point of the festival to offer a rich exploration of the festival’s annual theme. In 2018, the inaugural LFA Symposium – entitled Does Identity Matter? brought together 150 prominent architects, academics and commentators, and featured a range of leading figures including architect Mary Duggan alongside writer and broadcaster Tom Dyckhoff.

Tamsie Thomson, director of the London Festival of Architecture, said:

Once again the LFA Symposium promises to be a highlight of our festival programme in 2019, and our open call for participants is a brilliant opportunity to share thinking and a stage with some of the best architects, academics and commentators around. Our 2019 festival theme of ‘boundaries’ is deliberately broad, and I’m certain it will provoke a fascinating exploration of how tangible and intangible boundaries affect life in the city, and how architects can understand and unlock the many puzzles that those boundaries present.

Maya Ober, designer and research associate at the Institute of Industrial Design, FHNW Academy of Art and Design in Basel, responded to our call for participants for the inaugural LFA Symposium in 2018, where she presented her research into identity within the built environment. She said:

The LFA Symposium showed how important it is to foster critical reflection on the politics of design and architectural practice. Participation in the LFA Symposium has led to the further development of my research as well as facilitating establishing new professional networks.